by Stuart Rosenfield | Aug 5, 2016 | News |
I admit it. I am a history buff. I like going to history museums, watching Ken Burns documentaries on PBS, and looking up famous people on Wikipedia. I remember going to the Library of Congress on a trip to Washington DC and seeing all the great artifacts from decades of American culture and government. On that same trip, I went to the Newseum where I viewed hours of video from war correspondents and seeing documents that I previously only saw in textbooks or online. It made me feel great to be an American.
Did you know that as a Jew in Dallas, you have something similar that showcases the history of Jews in Dallas? The next time you are in the JCC, take a left at the front desk and go by the office of the Dallas Jewish Historical Society. You will see volunteers cataloging pictures from the earlier to mid-20th century of Jewish families who settled here. In the humidity-controlled Archive, you will see BBYO pictures from conventions in the 1960 and 1970s (yes I had hair back then) and collections of books, magazines, and other treasurers from decades of family collections. There are over 10,000 artifacts from people who donated family heirlooms or things from Dallas’s political history (campaign buttons and literature) or culture. Remember shopping at Titche’? There’s a collection from there. Did you shop at NorthPark when it open in the 1960s? We have promotional literature from its opening. We have Texas Jewish Posts going back 50 years. Talk about a Library of Congress – and it’s all in one place. Just ask our Archivist Alexus Ferguson to show you around.
If you don’t get by the JCC that often, look online at djhs.org. There you will find hundreds of oral histories from some of Dallas’s famous and not-so-famous Jewish residents who shared their journey to our area from places as far away as Russia and South Africa or as close as New York or Houston. Pretty fascinating stuff.
You can be a part of history too. If you have a family collection, come by the office and donate it to the Dallas Jewish Historical Society. We’ll take good care of it. Have a good story to tell about growing up in Dallas or why and how you moved here? Schedule an appointment to give a recorded Oral History. Your family will appreciate it for years. What a way to leave a legacy.
If you like what you see (and who wouldn’t?), we would love you to join us. Membership is only $72 (you can sign up on our website). There are also sponsorships available for programs the DJHS offers during the year. Just let Debra Polsky, our Executive Director, know how you can be a part of Jewish Dallas’ best kept secret.
I hope you join our family and be part of Dallas’s Jewish history.
Stuart Rosenfield
President
Dallas Jewish History Society
by debrap | Jun 16, 2016 | News |
BARUCH DAYAN EMET
It is with deep sadness that we extend condolences to the family of Ginger Chesnick Jacobs on the death of their mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, on Thursday, June 16, 2016.
Ginger was the wife of Mike Jacobs z”l; mother of Mark Jacobs, Deborah Linksman, Andy Jacobs and Reuben Jacobs; grandmother of Rivka (Brad) Altman, Leeza (Joe) Sanderson, Sarah (Jeffrey) Verchow, and Aviva Linksman; great-grandmother of Devon Altman and Elijah Verchow.
Founder of the Dallas Jewish Historical Society, Ginger tirelessly from 1971 up to the last several months to ensure that the rich history and the many contributions of the Jewish community in Dallas will be remembered.
Services will be held at Congregation Shearith Israel, 9401 Douglas Ave., at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, June 17, 2016, in the Aaron Family Main Sanctuary; internment to follow at Shearith Israel Cemetery, 4634 Dolphin Road in Dallas.
Shiva minyan will be held at the home of Rivka & Brad Altman, 9317 Faircrest in Dallas, beginning on Sunday, June 19th at 6:30 p.m.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Ginger Chesnick Jacobs Historical Tour and Outreach Fund at the Dallas Jewish Historical Society.
May Ginger’s memory be for a blessing on all who knew her, may her soul be bound up in the bonds of eternal life and may her family be comforted among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
by debrap | Apr 22, 2016 | News |
Granny Hannah’s Florentines
(courtesy of Joan Gremont)
3 cups unsalted peanuts (raw or roasted)
3 cups raisins
3 cups corn flakes
¾ cup glace cherries (red/green), chopped small
1 can condensed milk
Mix together. Place in heaps on rice paper and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
If no rice paper is available, you can use non-stick foil or parchment paper, or even a pan that has been sprayed. The advantage of the rice paper is that it is edible. You can dip the bottoms in a thin layer of melted chocolate.
by debrap | Mar 23, 2016 | 1920s and Earlier, News |
Titche-Goettinger Collection ephemera
Titche-Goettinger 1908 General Ledger
1904-05 Mail order catalog page display
Among the many collections to explore, the archives of the Dallas Jewish Historical Society, located in the Aaron Family JCC, houses a collection from one of Dallas’s premier department stores of the 20th century.
Titche’s, or Titche–Goettinger’s as it was known, was opened in downtown Dallas in 1902, by Edward Titche and Max Goettinger. Originally located at the corner of Elm and Murphy Streets in downtown Dallas, the store moved in 1904 to the Wilson building and then again when it built its flagship location at St. Paul Street, between Elm and Main Streets, which was then considered “Uptown”. At this new, much larger location the store successfully competed for Dallas’s growing fashion-conscious consumer and expanded the number of stores. Over the years, Titche-Goettinger was sold to larger retail conglomerates, who later shortened the name to Titche’s when the store expanded into the suburbs in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The name was changed again from Titche’s to Joske’s (its sister department store chain) until the then-owners (Allied) sold the stores to Dillard’s in 1987. The flagship location in downtown Dallas was closed after the Dillard’s acquisition.
This collection, generously given to the DJHS by Ellis M. Titche, a founding family descendent, includes a Titche-Goettinger General Ledger Cash Book from 1908-1910, a 1904-1905 Fall/Winter catalog, store gift boxes, an employee nametag from the 1960s, a wedding registry book published in 1964, and numerous photographs early store locations, as well as panoramic photographs from company picnics taken during the 1920’s. Additionally, the collection includes a promotional brochure and a newspaper article announcing Titche’s as one of Northpark Mall’s first anchor stores.
Come visit us when you are at the Aaron Family JCC, or check out our extensive collection of oral histories from Dallas Jewish personalities at www.djhs.org. The Dallas Jewish Historical Society works to collect, preserve, and protect the papers, photographs, artifacts and recorded personal stories that illustrate the history of the Jewish community in Dallas. The DJHS depends on annual membership dues, starting at $72, to support our programs and archive efforts, and is a partner agency of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas. Come join us!
By Stuart Rosenfield, DJHS Board Member
re-printed from the Texas Jewish Post
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